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gabessquishytum · 2 months

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Oh OG Warprize Hob Anon wherefore art thou..... I just thought it was time to show thanks and appreciation for one of the best AUs (imo) to come out of the Dreamling ship. Not a week goes by where I don't think about their writing, and spin headcanons and scenarios of my own in my head. One of the most underrated aspects of their writing I think is Dream's ruthlessness and cruelty in that AU, it's so rare to see Dream just be a toppy asshole all the way through, fellow fans seem to prefer to see him as an emotional bottom twink 😭. One of the rare AUs where Hob is allowed to be the sensitive wanton bottom all throughout 🤤🤤 Ohh OG Warprize Hob Anon, I miss your writing so much, I hope to see your writing grace this dashboard once more, especially with more dark Dream moments. For my fellow fans, I thought I'd do a small thing and compile all their asks here. I'm so sorry if this is sloppy, but I just copy-pasted these here.

Warprize Hob AU

Anonymous asked:

I don’t know where this came from?? Dubcon/noncon cw, or it’s kinky roleplay if you prefer that. But...

Hob fought bravely, a solider in the war of greater men. He even crossed blades with terror in all black, the Nightmare King himself once. They said it was better for a solider like him to die with honor than to be taken alive. But when the tide turned and Hob’s own sworn sovereign fell, all he wanted was to live. He laid down his blade, expecting to be taken into chains. But not chains like these.

He kneels, blindfolded, on the bed, naked other than pure gold bondage, thin chains that truss him everywhere. Gold binds his hands at his back. Gold cuffs secure his ankles, connected by a flimsy thread only put there so it could be snapped apart. Gold laces around his tits, catching in his chest hair. Gold threads between new ruby piercings in his nipples—still so sensitive that even the touch of silk sends bolts of pure heat through his body. Every time he twitches, he sees stars. Gold loops like garters around his thighs, connected to the glimmering chain around his hips. And gold ribbon cages his achingly hard cock and full balls.

Hob is so, so hard. He has been since they fed him sweet candied fruits laced with a magic that heated his blood until he was begging those faceless servants to please, please let him come. They didn’t. Instead, he was bathed and perfumed with jasmine oil brushed through his hair (everywhere). He was opened with gentle touches and generous oil, a marble plug nestled inside him, blessedly cool against his burning skin. He was left on the bed with a final chain connecting his collar to the bedframe.

His prick so hard in its confines, and the plug is not enough. He still feels terribly empty. Against his own will, he finds himself rocking back and forth, rubbing his thighs together, desperate for anything that might help him get pleasure where he needs it most.

Until with no warning, a hand touches his head. He stills. He thought he was alone. Strong, thin fingers brush down his face, linger on his lips. A gentle thumb pushes inside his mouth. Hob moans, body thrumming like a harp just to be touched so simply.

“Peace, my prize,” a deep voice, peaceful as slumber, murmurs. The blindfold is pulled down and Hob blinks blearily into the face of the Nightmare King himself. He smiles, confident and regal, and slim fingers caress his side, down to his ass, and push against the plug until it finally presses where Hob needs it. "I will give you what you crave.”

Gabe:

Mmmm yes!!!! I love this.

Hob as Dream’s chosen prize after his victory in battle? Oh yes, excellent. I particularly adore the idea of Hob being unknowingly fed some kind of aphrodisiac to make him needy - Dream wants him to be willing, so he will simply make sure that he has no choice but to be.

Also, the preparation... Hob would usually be utterly humiliated by such an act. It's so impersonal and degrading. But all he can think about is how much he wants to cum, so he spends the whole time whining and begging for more. By the time Dream gets to him, Hob is spreading his legs like a well trained whore who's never known anything different. He's nearly forgotten the battle and his instincts as a warrior, he just wants to be fucked. Anyone could come into the room and have him and Hob would just be grateful.

But he isn't for just anyone, oh no. He's the king’s prize, his spoils of war. He suckles desperately on Dream’s thumb, sticks his arse out temptingly and generally tries to make himself as tempting as possible. He aches, and his brain is fuzzy, the king is absolutely the most beautiful thing Hob has ever seen right now.

Not to mention his cock is perfect - the most perfect Hob has ever had inside him. It's as though his body has been molded perfectly for the king’s cock. He's not sure if he's ever cum so many times in his life.

When he comes back to himself several hours later, sweating and sticky and aching... he knows that he should be angry and hurt. He should get up from the beautiful bed and find some way to escape. But. He's tired, and hungry. The bed is comfortable, and the king is staring at him with sparkling black eyes.

He rolls over. Cum trickles gently down his thighs. The king holds out his hand, one of those candied fruits held between his long pale fingers.

Hob opens his mouth.

Anonymous asked:

Hiii I’m the originally war prize hob anon, lured back because I was blown away by how you and everyone else responded to the idea! Amazing work, go team.

Here’s more. (It’s so long. I’m sorry)

At first, Hob was confined to the bed chamber, a decoration, a pretty thing—and so rarely has Hob ever considered himself pretty. Pretty was for swallow-boned young men and women with smooth thighs. Pretty was not him, full bodied and furred. He has always pleased his lovers, they have found him handsome. But most have expected him to take charge and take care of them, not to—to—

Submit with spread legs and open mouth. To tempt. To eat sweet aphrodisiacs from those long, pale fingers until he’s begging to feel them for inside him. Sweet humiliation.

The king wants this. They pass long nights pounding Hob’s pride to shreds. He learns to beg under the king’s cock, his cruel mouth, and the touch of those inhuman eyes. Even sober, he only has to think of the king and his body floods with hot want. But still. Hob doesn’t understand.

“Why me?” He dared ask the first week, the king with a hand fisted in his hair, thrusting into him so deep and slow, Hob could feel it in his throat.

The king paused. A cool hand trailed down Hob’s back. Gathered the chains that pooled at his back, the ones he hadn’t yet snapped in his fervor. “I am interested.”

Hob meant to press him, even at the risk of his own peril, but the king slammed back into him and every thought vanished.

And then Hob is brought out of the bed and taken to kneel at the throne during the days too, chained to the king’s hand. At first, Hob assumes he is meant to be a symbol of the king’s power. Or a toy to warm the king’s cock when the duties of court grow dull. (Hob is both.)

But then comes a night when the king ponders battle plans for his next great war. And he turns to Hob.

“My general suggested we surge ahead and meet the enemy at their own gate. You rolled your eyes.” The king looks at Hob as if he is peeling the layers of muscle and bone away, finding the heart of him. And Hob realizes that all day, the king had noticed him listening. Not always—sometimes the king prefers to see him squirm, prefers to press the heavy gold plug into his hole and watch Hob strain for hours to keep it in, only to fail. During those hours, Hob had not heard a thing.

But when the king had allowed Hob to rest his head against his solid thigh, Hob had listened. And he had been seen doing it.

“Your enemy will expect a frontal attack. A show of strength. For you are a strong king. Respectfully, that’s a brave way to kill many of your own men.”

“Hmm.” The king says nothing else. He beckons until Hob kneels again at his side, the bowl of candied fruits, as always, sitting on the table. The king plucks one up and offers it to Hob.

“My lord,” Hob breathes. “Why do you care what I think?”

Hands brush through his hair. “Eat,” the king murmurs.

This king wants something. He waits for something. Hob cannot work out what. Yet.

He eats.

Gabe:

Assfggjkl og warprize anon!!!!!!

I am so taken with Hob’s thoughtfulness, his curiosity. His fearlessness. And I think that Dream is rapidly becoming besotted with these things too.

Hob isn't scared of him. No matter how ruthless and harsh he is, no matter which way Dream forces Hob to bend, he always springs back up with those curious eyes, wanting to know what's next. Dream suspects that he doesn't need the aphrodisiacs at all - that Hob would be willing to spread himself out in any arrangement of Dream’s choosing. But Dream is afraid of rejection, and Hob enjoys the lustful oblivion just a little bit too much to ask for a change.

Hob is clever and capable and good with his hands. When Dream comes to him wounded from some accident or skirmish, Hob knows exactly how to bind the flesh carefully but firmly. He rests his head in Dream’s lap after, like a beloved pet hound. His breathing is so soothing, Dream even manages to fall asleep. He wakes up and Hob is already between his legs, ready and waiting to be choked on the king’s cock as usual.

Dream fucks him instead, as ferocious as ever but this time with a purpose. Hob is his prize and the world ought to know about it. From now on, he'll have Hob smelling of his cum, always. He'll have him littered with bite marks and bruises. He'll keep Hob close, make sure the end of his gold leash is always within reach. He'll bring Hob to the battlefield, if he must.

A creature as magnificent as Hob must be treated as he deserves. And Dream alone can give him what he needs.

Anonymous asked:

War prize hob anon, here!!! I am loving the responses to this idea! So many amazing brilliant takes, love to see it.

The talk of whether Hob would escape or stay and be spoiled inspired me (glorious takes on both sides) so I drabbled on the subject…

It takes time. Trust. And a letter opener left unattended.

That night, Hob slides quietly as he can out of the silk sheets. He sits astride the sleeping king, his face turned toward the moon, his neck a deceptive swan’s curve. And Hob raises the blade to it.

One slice. And he is free.

It does not matter, he tells himself, that he has never been fucked so well. That the king is kind to him, relatively. He could take Hob with violence and pain or share him. Instead he feeds Hob fruits to heat his blood so that every time he plunders his body, with fingers, tongue and cock, Hob welcomes him.

Even the humiliations and hurts of his new service are given a sweet edge. The way he was spanked for misbehaving, hard and brutal, until his skin was red and tender. Followed by a hot tongue in his ass. The way he was made to kneel for hours and hold the king’s cock in his mouth. Followed by servants massaging the aches from his body and tending to his bad knee. (Yet another reason Hob is a poor choice for a prize.) In the king’s service, Hob might hurt. But he rewards him with such care…lavishes attention on him until Hob cannot come any more.

No. Hob has to do this. He must escape. He has his pride. This is just pleasure. Nothing more.

“Well?” The king’s voice interrupts his turmoil. Oh gods. He is awake. He surges up, knocking the blade from his grip. A hand clamps on his thigh, another on his wrist and he is rolled on his back, away from the blade. The chain between his wrists, once wide to allow him movement, slithers shorter until the cuffs kiss, and the collar tightens just enough to threaten his breathing. For all his battle prowess, struggling it gets him nowhere but squirming and pinned. The nightmare king settles over Hob like a dragon on top of its hoard. He stares unblinkingly down at him.

“You could not do it,” comes that deep whisper. Hob stills. “You are a well-trained solider yet for nearly five minutes you sat with a blade at my neck and did not make your move. Why?”

Hob swallows. A hot open mouthed kiss blooms just under his jaw, followed by the press of teeth. Even without the candied fruit his body sings for this man. What is happening to him?

“My pet. My prize. You must already face great consequences for this disobedience,” the king says. “I may not let you come for weeks. Answer me or it will be months.”

“I had to try. I had to—I don’t understand.” It isn’t the first time he has asked, pled, begged to know. “I’m at my wits end. Please. Why me?”

Fingers slip between them to tease at his hole and Hob resists the powerful, heady urge to submit and grind against him. For as long as he can before his resolve crumbles into lust. It will not be long. It never is.

The king gives the same maddening answer he always gives. The only one, whispered against his lips. “I am interested.”

Gabe:

Hnnnnng.

Og warprize hob anon…… i hope you know that you’ve created a beautiful monster and we’re all horny about it. i hope you also know that your words are beautiful and your prose is delightful. it’s a pleasure to read.

Oh but the turmoil Hob goes through. There’s nothing that the king can do to soothe the way his mind is twisting and turning, bouncing between loyalty to himself and some mad, misplaced loyalty to this nightmare of man. What does Hob owe Dream, really? His life? What kind of life is this?

He could set himself free. He thinks he’s almost worked it out. He could take away the one think the king seems to want. He could make himself… dull. Boring, predictable. Uninteresting.

But.

He thinks about long, thin fingers running down his spine and soothing the perpetual ache at the small of his back. Warm salve on his knee, applied at the king’s own orders. His body rigid and sweating in the night from some bad dream, suddenly embraced by cool arms. A kiss on his brow in the early morning. He’s been so greedy for those things, has coveted them and gloried in them. How can he live without them now?

Worse: what would the nightmare king do with a broken toy? Hob doesn’t want to find out.

He bounces in Dream’s lap with renewed fervor when he’s finally allowed the privilege of taking the king’s cock again. But there’s a heat behind his eyes, a kind of determination that he’d thought long dead and gone. He’ll find some way to win this game, this strange warped little battle. His own feelings be damned, Hob will not be broken. Even a king must have some chink in his armor, somewhere.

Dream raises a delicate eyebrow and almost, almost smiles. Pulls his prize closer by his golden leash.

“Interesting.”

Anonymous asked:

Hiiii warprize anon here! Glad to see people are still warprizing hob, I think it’s good for him. Truly, anons, you are doing glorious work with that AU.

I wanted to write dark obsessive dream next in all his dubcon glory next but no one cooperated? Have some less porny character introspection instead ig…

It’s amazing how little it takes for a grown man to become used to being a pet. As weeks stretch into months, Hob revels, just a little. In the lustful linger of eyes on his body. In the quirk of that cruel mouth when Hob pleases the king. The eager stirring of his cock even before he eats aphrodisiacs. Even his punishments—even the hot lash of the whip—begins to feel like sacrilegious worship. Gasping for breath, holding his thighs spread as the king buries himself in his body certainly is. In the blackest and most honest hours of the night, Hob knows the truth. He is starting to like it.

That’s the danger of the king’s service.

Hour by orgasmic hour, the king is twisting himself into Hob’s mind and body like a key carving out its own lock. He demands Hob’s submission, his pleasure and his desire for his own. But how many people had the king had in such a way? How many prizes have knelt, and learned to live at his pleasure? And where are they now? Abandoned surely, replaced. Hob is the chalice the king sips from now but he is one of dozens, maybe even hundreds. The king might have taken a prize from every battle won.

Hob is…not special.

He kneels on his cushion, waiting for the king who has stepped from the throne room, and reminds himself.

Footsteps approach and stop just behind him. Always, when the king is away, a guard is assigned to keep a close eye for Hob’s protection, though none are allowed to take his chains in their grip. Not unless Hob runs. Daring, the guard plucks at the chain between his nipples until it swings against Hob’s chest. He holds his breath.

“How’s it going?” A voice drawls. “Knees a little tired?”

Hob glances at the door for the absent king before raising his head. The guard above him smirks like he knows a joke and Hob is the punchline.

“Yes, rather,” Hob replies. “Even with the cushion.”

“His majesty seems to like that,” he muses.

Corinthian. That is his name. He’d heard the king give him orders with iron in his voice. The way one talked to a guard dog who wasn’t trusted. A creature who couldn’t be taught to fear the whip.

“You’d know better than me.” Hob meets his eye as best he can through the man’s dark glasses. He is very handsome, golden and strong. Perhaps this is the answer. Perhaps prizes who lose their luster are given other ways to serve.

Corinthian tilts his head. Hob feels his eyes trace down the marks the king left. Lurid love bites at his throat and faint fingertip bruises on his hips. “I really don’t. Suppose I’m not his type.”

“Surely you’ve seen the others then.” Hob replies. He keeps his hands folded where they’re bound at the small of his back.

“Other … prizes?” Corinthian’s grin only grows. “Sweetheart, no. You’re the first.”

Hon stares but senses no lie. “Can’t be.“

“Picking a prize always been his right but he’s never felt the need to use it until now. Until you.” The man leans closer, dangerously into his space. Hob feels him breathing, he’s so close. “I’ve heard the sounds he pulls from you at night. He must have years of pent up energy.”

Hob’s throat is dry. Something fragile, winged and stupid flutters in his chest. But before he has to think of a reply, Corinthian snaps back to a respectful distance an instant before the doors swing open, and the king sweeps in. He climbs the stairs, slinks back to claim his throne. Hob is still reeling when his cool hand finds his chin and tilts his head up.

“You did not move,” the king says. It is not a question but an expectation.

Hob shakes his head. For a long moment his eyes glitter down on him, simply watching. Then fingers card through his hair and he is guided to rest his head against his king’s knee.

Gabe:

Lying face down on the floor after reading this tbh. Like. What can I say? What can I add?

Knowing that he's the only one is a further kind of beautiful torture for Hob, because once again he's asking himself over and over again: why? Why him, above anyone else? There's a part of him in agony over his imprisonment, the curtailing of his freedoms, the fact that his mind and body are no longer his own. Then there's the part of him who wants to know why, so he can be good. He needs to know how he can keep the favour that he has miraculously obtained.

And Dream? He never gives answers. If Hob even dared to ask more than a small, sobbed "why me?" in the midst of some blissful torture, Dream wouldn't bother to answer. Hob thinks that the king likes him kept ignorant and confused. It's another way to keep him in line. He's always dancing on a knife's edge, wondering whether the king will eventually toss him aside - never knowing if he's truly safe.

So he'd better be as good as he can. Never give Dream a reason to throw him away. But he will slip up eventually - its only a matter of time...

Anonymous asked:

As requested, here’s some warprize!hob being punished by dark!dream for bad behavior. Also… thanks panickingstudent2’s last ask for some very specific inspo!

The king chains him up by his wrists. No gold cuffs with velvet interiors here. Not for this. This is punishment, work fit for dungeons, cold and deep as his king’s displeasure. Hob is already delirious from too much candied fruit. The cage has been cruelly clenched around his hot, aching cock for days now but he needs to be fucked, he needs it, he needs it.

“Mercy,” he begs but it won’t do him any good. He’s been begging for days, his cock and balls hot and aching.

Fury is divine on the nightmare king’s face. Other kings would simply kill him. Leave his body for the ravens. But Hob’s king will not let him go.

“I would have you obey me,” the king says. Fingers brush against his hole and don’t even push in where Hob yearns for them despite himself. He cants his hips back weakly, but the fingers go away. “But if I must bring you low again and again, I will. And I will enjoy it every time.”

He steps back. And the whip snaps through the air and white-hot fire flashes across Hob’s back.

Wet agony blooms across his shoulders and bloodred welts.

“You know why I must do this,” the king says. “You know why it is my pleasure to do this.”

The whip lashes again and again, fire licking across his skin. It doesn’t stop when Hob screams. Or when he sobs. When it’s done, his entire back glows like an ember. The king faces him, eyes black holes in his pale, sharp face. He places a cool hand on Hob’s back and he presses into the soothing touch, whining like a newborn babe.

“Please, I’m sorry, please, pleasepleaseplase,” he breathes. The king twists him around until the cuffs pull tight. He drags the plug from his hole, and finally buries himself to the hilt in his ass. Hob wails. Hands tangle in his chest hair and pull him flush against his king, as he plunges in and out at a ruinous pace. Being finally filled is sweeter relief than when the whip stopped.

“Say you are mine,” the king says. Once he was quiet, and constrained whenever he touched Hob and this is why—the need in his voice is barely bridled. Hob is not the only desperate one. “Say it.” The king bites, sudden and sharp at Hob’s earlobe.

“I’m yours—Morpheus!” His head snaps back as his body thunders through a cruel, dry orgasm. He doesn’t hear the king’s soft gasp against his ear, or register the name he’s cried. He’s in pain, from his cock to his shoulders—yet Hob floats. Perhaps he could fly.

Love, Warprize Anon

Gabe:

Hnnnggg. I am. Deeply obsessed with this. I love it when you drop these beautiful snippets for us!!! Hob calling the king by his name in the middle of a punishment/orgasm? Talk about a mind-fuck. Poor thing, he's truly terrified.

But it isn't just fear, is it? It would be so much simpler if he could say that he's scared and be done with it. So much easier to handle that emotion. What he feels is more that fear. He's grown attached to the king, longs for him when they're apart and fears him when they're together. When he tries to imagine a life away from his capture, he can't even manage it anymore. It's impossible to see beyond the king, who looms so large in Hob’s thoughts all the time. He's obsessed, addicted, terrified, longing to be taken and horrified by the idea all the same.

All he knows is that his king has power over him that he will probably never comprehend. Perhaps its time to surrender and acknowledge that he's lost. He no longer belongs to himself. He belongs to Morpheus.

-Love Yan Anon <3

Aww, hey Yan Anon!!! It's nice to hear from you. And thank you for highlighting OG Warprize Anon and their incredible work (you're a trooper for scrolling through and copy/pasting everything, seriously). Warprize au has definitely been a big hit, as it rightly should be, and it's great to look back on how it all started. Hopefully OG Warprize Anon is out there doing great and knowing that they inspired many, many people.

Hopefully we'll see more content for the Dark Dream enjoyers out there. I certainly lean towards a mean toppy Dream myself, although I'm not immune to Obliterating That Twink either. There's room for everyone in the fandom - and don't forget to leave comments for your favourite authors as Yan Anon has here. It's a great way to encourage your faves to write more of the stuff that you love!

#yan anon #the sandman #dreamling #nsft #warprize hob #cw dubcon #cw drugging #cw intox #cw pain #cw physical abuse

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blood-orange-juice · 7 months

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I promised a "Furina is Jesus" post. It's kind of a shitpost but also it's not.

The theatre of the courtroom

I'll first have to note that law is a peculiar thing. It is created through practicing it.

It's not just the written rules, it's how we apply them, and who gets to write and rewrite them, and there's no solid foundation underneath.

It's supposed to be treated as immutable until it's suddenly not. Until an insurgence turns into a revolution or the divine right of kings becomes a symbolic relic of the past. In the mildest scenario a bunch of old farts just gather and vote for new rules. Sometimes the very same rules that give those old farts the right to decide rules.

A law remains a law as long as enough people agree to believe and enforce it. How much is "enough" is also debatable (often depends on the size of your army).

It is very much like theatre. Humans like it when the world is molded into coherent stories so they happily participate.

Furina making a show out of trials is not a perversion of law, it shows she understands its very nature.

Transgression and transcendence

Now back to Christianity. The essense of Christianity is transgression. No, seriously.

It's as punk as a religion can get. A god hanging out with publicans and harlots? Killing a god in the most humiliating way possible and being forgiven for it? Symbolically eating a god?

It's insane.

Such practices are usually reserved for small communities of a very special sort (*ahem* left-hand path tantrics*ahem*). It's the only religion I know that gleefully and unashamedly incorporates such things into rituals meant for the lay public.

(this is probably a good time to mention that I'm not Christian and it's a look of an outsider fascinated with philosophy of religion in general)

It's actually one of the real reasons a lot of pagans rejected Christianity so fiercely: it's spectacularly nonchalant in dealing with things that would be considered "unclean" by most archaic cultures.

Now this is important.

As post-structuralist theories state, any attempt to establish a power structure, to set rules or to define self will also produce things that would seem unclean. Impure. Things that should be cast off. It's in the nature of our psyche. The concept of uncleanliness is one of the core mechanisms that allow our mind to function.

(I'll redirect you to Julia Kristeva and the concept she names abjection if you want to dive into it.

I also want to note that abjection and horror go side by side and it makes a lot of sense that Fontaine is also the Lovecraftian expansion)

And what did Christianity do? It subtly removed the importance of "cleanliness". The gravity of it. It established as the norm that norms can be redefined and transcended. That the outcasts and the sinners are not to be forgotten.

It fucking changed the rules of how human psyche and society function. Added an extra possible move.

A sin can be forgiven. A criminal executed in the most ignominious way can turn out to be a god. You never truly know. And also anything can be made clean. Go wash it kitten.

(yay)

(and yes, I know a lot of modern Christians practice the opposite of what I describe. I'm not a fan of these folks too. doesn't matter. the possibility is there. it's glorious. also horrifying and a bit disgusting)

That dude from two thousand years ago

What about him.

I often see people calling a "Jesus figure" anyone who is sacrificed to save others. Or anyone who is reborn. The thing is, this is not how it works.

A god dying and being reborn is the oldest myth on this planet. Last time I checked it was connected to the sun worship, day/night cycle and winter solstice rituals (although it could have changed and also I didn't check very thoroughly). In any way, it predates Christianity by millennia.

Sacrificing all kinds of things and beings to get something in return or to offer gods something else in your stead is also pretty old and very much not Christian.

The unique beauty of that story is that a supreme being, ultimately more worthy than any human, wilfully chose to sacrifice himself for lowly mortals. Actually, allowed them to betray and kill him. And then forgave them.

Do you see how it ties to the previous section? It defied the previoisly established world order (where gods were incomparably more important than humans). It created a paradox. It broke the rules, or rather it destroyed the rules.

Theological debates aside, on a symbolic level it pretty much destroyed the old concept of sin and the idea of a fundamental difference between a god and a human. Everything a paradox touches stops being fully real and needs to be redefined (ceci n'est pas une pipe).

'Sin' doesn't mean the same thing anymore, and 'god' doesn't mean the same thing anymore, even 'death' means a different thing now. The world just starts to function differently after a story like that happens or is told.

(since it only needs to mess up the symbolic order it doesn't even need to happen, only to be told and believed)

And there we have it. A Jesus figure should establish new rules. Preferably better ones. It's someone who fundamentally changes the world with their sacrifice.

That's also where we get back to "law is established by practice". That was the process of establishing a new law.

(this is also why I dislike the idea of Childe as a Jesus figure. he is not a supreme being, he's not the type to sacrifice himself for people he perceives as lower than him, and he is not integrated into society enough for his death to establish new rules. he can still die and be reborn in a new quality, he can even change the world in some way but that would be a different type of story)

Our precious girlfailure

So. Furina.

Fontaine's prophecy speaks of all Fontainians being born with some kind of 'sin'. And the way Neuvilette is talking to the pool of primordial water in 4.1 implies that its ability to dissolve Fontainians is not some kind of natural law but an intentional wrathful act.

And Varunada Lazurite (we know that ascension materials contain the final lines of the archon quest) says this:

"My ideals have no stains. I must correct you. People here bear no sins in the eyes of the gods... Only laws and the Tribunal can judge someone. They can judge even me. So praise my magnificence and purity."

I assume the solution will not be simply killing the eldritch whale or "cleansing" the sin or locking the sea away.

I think Furina will in some way redefine what is considered a sin, or how it should be judged, or who gets to administer judgement. She will create new rules for the world. Probably by dying in some way (temporarily or symbolically) to create a paradox.

(maybe we'll also get to learn that death in Teyvat is not true death)

As I said at the beginning, she understands the law and the very nature of law very well, probably better than Neuvilette. Who else would be better suited for this task.

And no one will notice the beauty and insanity of her gesture, like no one really noticed with that guy two thousand years ago. They'll just think things got fixed because they sacrificed Someone Important.

But that's all right. She'll forgive them.

#focalors #furina #fontaine #maybe this is not what will happen but then you get to enjoy this theory until 4.2 comes out #I do not accept the authority of this court to judge me #and yes I include post-structuralist theories in my shitposts #you can't stop me #can't stop won't stop #but honestly #this is why I strongly dislike jesus figures in media #if an author wants to do it they should at least try to match the scale of the original story #otherwise it's just cheap and pathetic #childe #tartaglia #(since he's mentioned here too)

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grizzersmamma · 10 months

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Eight Hands to Hold | Kraken!König x Horangi

Summary: In a world where monsters and magic run rampant, Kim Hong-Jin (nicknamed Horangi by his friends) receives a gift from a new business partner.

Notes: This is a non-military au, so neither of the boys are part of Kortac. I'm not allowing myself to start any more fics or AUs, so this will just be little snippets of the AU as we go.

Pairing: Kraken!König x Horangi

Warnings: Non-Military AU, Monster Cruelty, Unedited.

Series Masterlist: Here

CoD Masterlist: Here

Kim can only stare at the small creature before him as it attempts to cram itself as far into the corner of the box as it physically can. The monster – and that’s a generous term for the little octopus considering how tiny and anxious it seems – has its head buried behind its tentacles, creating pathetic little whimpers.

“Cute, right?” one of the men ask, sneering at the octopus, “he’s not so cute when he isn’t under control.” As if trying to prove his point, the man jabs a finger harshly at the writhing mass of tentacles, snickering when it squeaks and tries to curl up further.

The man lifts his hand, showcasing the soft glow of red runes marked across his skin like a glowing tattoo. Kim has seen such marks before, used to bind a monster to serving a human with powerful magic, but he’s never seen a mark so complex for a single beast. Yet even with clear evidence of its power in the numerous charms needed to keep it contained, it’s difficult to see the quivering black blob as dangerous.

He easily fakes a laugh to play in with the other men gathered for the meeting, adding a disgusted scoff for good measure. “Where did you find it? A monster with that kind of power must have been difficult to take down, no?” His heart clenches a little when he catches sight of the monster’s big, beautiful blue eyes blinking up at him. They’re wet and sad like a kicked puppy, and the tiny whimper the monster makes only sells the look further.

The other man shrugs, waving away his question, “I dunno, I bought him from a couple of mages that said he’d been harassing fishing and military boats. He’s supposed to be some sort of kraken I think?”

Now that’s interesting, no wonder such a complicated mark is needed to keep the monster under control. A kraken is a dangerous creature, said to have been touched with the strength of Cthulhu himself. Though it’s difficult to know for sure with how finicky magic tends to be and how secretive monsters are of their origins.

“Impressive,” Kim hums, leaning back further into the chair behind him, “although I am a little confused as to why you chose to bring it to our meeting?” he raises an eyebrow, doing his best to pry his eyes from the monster and focus on the man before him.

A business partner who could provide just the edge needed in such a competitive market. As much as he would enjoy telling the man exactly what he thought of mistreating another living creature, he bites his tongue, tamping down his disgust so it isn’t visible in his tone or expression.

The deal has already been completed and the finer details agreed upon and set in writing, sealed with a signature from both parties. Yet still, he cannot risk ruining things by insulting the man, irritating as he may be.

“Well, in anticipation of a successful deal, I thought it would be polite to show up with a gift!” the man’s grin is all teeth, showing off his perfectly white smile.

Kim just blinks, completely at a loss for words for a solid few seconds, “you mean the monster is-”

“A gift to solidify our partnership!” the man cuts him off, his booming voice causing the octopus to flinch away from it and Kim to grit his teeth.

“A most gracious gift,” he acknowledges slowly, “but I’m afraid I know very little about magic, I wouldn’t be able to perform the ritual to transfer ownership.”

Once again the man waves off his concerns, “don’t worry about it, Kim-“ he does his best to cringe at having his first name used, “-I’ve had several pet monsters in the past. Transferring ownership is easy, it’s binding them that’s supposed to be the hard part.” The man reaches out a hand, “just give us your arm, yeah?”

Kim gets the feeling that this person isn’t often refused and, wanting this meeting to be over as soon as possible (if only to get these people out of his hair), decides to comply. It takes what little remains of his patience to not gag when he feels the man’s sweaty palms grasp his arm.

Using a phone to find the words needed, the man proceeds to rattle off a whole long spiel in some dead language. He’s pretty sure that the pronunciation is being completely butchered, but can only watch in amazement as the crimson runes seem to gradually fade from the other man’s skin.

Where the runes vanish from one place they immediately reappear on Kim’s arm. It’s a strange sensation, hot like a brand, yet somehow painless. No doubt he’ll be feeling the strange tingling sensation in his arm for a while yet.

As soon as the short chant is complete the greasy man laughs, clapping his hands together like a delighted toddler. “Congratulations, your first monster!”

Kim doesn’t particularly feel any different, even as the runes pulse and glow. He supposed he’ll just have to take the other man’s word for it.

It takes a while to finally get the small group of men to leave – over an hour of painful chatter as Kim tries not to make it too obvious that he’s attempting to o push them out the door – and the moment the door closes he deflates. Hours of ironing out details with lawyers, each point more tedious than the last has left him weary.

When he eventually musters up the strength to straighten back up again and turn back towards his desk, he spots the little octopus. It’s crawled out of the box it was hidden within and is now perched on the desk.

One of its tentacles is poking at a pen sat precariously on the edge of the pen holder, creating almost inaudible chittering sounds as it inspects the object. Unfortunately, the action causes the pen to be displaced and it rolls off of the holder and onto the desk, landing with a loud thump.

The octopus shrieks at the sound, moving at a frankly rather impressive speed as it dives back into the safety of the box. The whole container is vibrating with how badly the monster is shaking.

Kim simply sighs. Now he has to figure out what the hell he’s supposed to do with a monster.

#writing #call of duty modern warfare #kim horangi hong jin #könig call of duty #monster au #horangi x könig #korangi

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zahri-melitor · 7 months

Text

I've been thinking about War of the Robins, aka 'Damian challenges the other Robins to prove he's the Best Robin' storyline from Batman and Robin 2011, and what I think worked about it in terms of characterisation. (look I'm reading New 52, you get to hear lots of my ten plus years out of date thoughts about New 52, enjoy)

Because look, I think it was successful in presenting how desperate for approval and validation Damian is, but it also feeds into the narrative you can see percolating during this time that Damian can't cope with just being one of the family, he has to be the best, have the most love and approval, have physical demonstrations of his superiority, because he's grown up understanding being one of the group to be a death sentence. (Dick has to be his Batman, and Damian Dick's Robin, he needs the writers giving him reassurance that they were 'the best' right before he dies, the new timeline cuts off any other occasions Dick was Batman, Damian gets given extra pets right before he dies as a sop for his death, etc etc)

Which is believable characterisation for Damian! It is understandable given the background they're building for him! But also sharply aggravating because nobody has ever accused fans of being reasonable and this just digs people into being more deeply opposed to the character their favourite is in conflict with.

So he 'challenges' Tim and Jason 'at something you feel unbeatable at' in a way that sharply exploits emotions they're sensitive about.

Damian...shows Tim a video of Tim considering killing and pulling back, and implies that that makes Tim a killer just like Damian and "they're the same". Now I think this one is actually pretty weak - while yes it's exploiting a point Tim's sensitive over (and in our world has dealt with twice in the calendar year prior to this story), it's also something Tim's pretty solid on; Tim knows he's not a killer and will pull back, while he's seen Damian kill. I also think that a Damian who's working to be a better person would not refer to the Spook situation as "a bit rambunctious", rather than it being something he regrets and tries to grow from. It does amuse me that Tim gets to smash Damian into Jason's trophy case however this time for the parallel, though being the one who breaks the case generally is framed to make you the one 'in the wrong' in the confrontation. Also as far as I can tell Damian never takes a physical trophy from this fight, which sort of ruins your whole premise, Damian. NB: I see Damian has Tim's bo in his room later, but Tim clearly ended the fight holding it and then left. There's definitely an art issue here.

Jason's fight is even more exploitation of a known weakness. Jason's got every right to be touchy about someone threatening him with a crowbar. Also I really really dislike that Damian's just freely admitting to the time he locked himself in with the Joker to beat him up at GCPD, because honestly that bit of story and its timing has always seemed to contradict the 'he's getting better' narrative that Dick maintains during Reborn. And again the whole conversation is "we're so alike but nobody loves you". At least this time Damian clearly takes his trophy (which is a helmet, which is still displayed in Damian's room during scenes there in the B&R Requiem issue).

Dick showing up at the end to explain to Damian that he doesn't need to try so hard prove his worth and just handing over an escrima stick - look it's sweet and it does impart the moral that Damian needed to learn over this whole situation. But also it does not really help, as it's just deepened the family fault-lines between Dick & Damian as a pair and *sigh* Jason & Tim.

The other thing I get out of it is whether it's just bravado or not, Damian's a lot more comfortable with his childhood violence continuing to come out rather than working to fit the rules of what makes a Robin and a superhero than people want to say he is. Yes, he needs unconditional love and support to grow and learn, and Dick's being used to provide that. But it's also occasion 3000 when I'm sitting here going "is anyone ever going to give Damian actual boundaries and enforce them when he tests them?" because he's once again well outside what is expected. Bruce tries at the start to defuse the argument, and Dick tries at the end to explain why Damian didn't need to do this, he's already won, but I do wonder how much of it sunk in.

#B&R is the wrong place and time to turn around and reassure Tim and Jason over 'Damian has had why this was a bad call explained to him'#but also the takeaway Tim and Jason get from this is Damian just got away with whatever he wanted AGAIN and Dick will just validate that #I can see the background of so many fandom fights in this #z canon read throughs

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dykepulpfriction · 6 months

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Thoughts on aftg/star trek?

oh god. so many!

vulcan andrew. he fits the mold pretty well, except for the violence. I could see him similar to spock in that case, a half vulcan, which would add to the way hes kind of seen as an unpredictable character by the upperclassmen -- working with the idea that people who are both terran and vulcan dont fit perfectly into easy behavior stereotypes. im thinking a lot about the pocket book "mindshadow" where spock's "inconsistencies" get expored. in an aftg to tos recast, id put him as spock.

that brings me to neil, who i think in said recast is a really solid kirk. There's this one tumblr post by @/na-nanu talking about kirk's alienation, and one line that has stuck with me ever since i read it: "Kirk, while personable, is a fairly Vulcan human." this strikes me as so so neil. until they really get to know him better, the upperclassmen tend to read neil in opposition to andrew. neil, to those outside, is the more personable of the two, the one who feels. as we all know, neil and andrew are incredibly similar -- which is why i referenced that quote just now. like kirk, neil takes andrew as he is, and never asks for more than he can give.

more kirk qualities: neil is ride or die (literally) for his team, self-sacrificing and quick-witted. he's not afraid to lie or trick his way into getting what he wants. lets be honest, both of these men love a good ruse.

going back to andrew for a moment, the way andrew is talked about as unfeeling and monstrous rings a very similar bell to the way terrans talk about vulcans and their lack of emotional display. kirk can read spock better than anyone, sound familiar?

this gets its own bullet point because i dont know where to put it. not all of my thoughts on aftg/st are so matchy-matchy (like, trying to make things line up), but i think the episode "The Enemy Within" and Neil-Nathaniel-Only-One-Of-Them-Can-Survive-Both-Of-Them-Want-To-Live have got some interesting similarities. Nathaniel dying in that basement too, and such.

I feel like people might want to cast Kevin as McCoy, because of McSpirk, and how they're the main trio. but because of Spock and Bones' frequent disagreements, similarities, and general vibes i really see him as Aaron, who's more explosive then Kevin when it comes to Andrews apathy. Bones and his wife and kid back home are also kind of Katelyn-esque.

renee and uhura... i think that this parallel works if spock/andrew, vulcan andrew what have you, is at the core of this thing. theres a lot of similarities for everyone, but god. he's the reason i'm even thinking about tos and aftg together. the "unlikely" friendship, everyone thinking they have a thing, bonding over a shared activity (but its music instead of beating the shit out of each other)

i can really imagine andrew getting into star trek. its a really good "what if?" show that i think he'd enjoy, given his feelings on the zombie apocalypse. renee could definitely get into the morality aspect as well. i can see them talking about the questions in the epsodes, like "so what would you do if your evil clone tried to take over the ship?" and the like. Andrew seeing himself in Spock, seeing someone who also can only deal with his emotions on the lowest volume, and him being loved nonetheless. Maybe seeing a little bit of his not-boyfriend-nothing Neil in Kirk.

another thing about spock/andrew. they are both surprisingly open! I'd have to go back and look to find the exact post, but someone made a great post about how kirk is actually not that forthcoming about his past/life, while spock, if you literally just ask him, will tell you a lot! this i think is hilariously similar to neil being seen as the more open one, when he is actually so cagey and full of false pasts, while andrew will answer most questions. people just never seem to ask (until neil, ofc).

There's definitely more where this came from, so ill add on to this later, but im battling a bit of a headache right now and need to end it here. Thank you so so much for the ask, im excited to hear what you think!!!!!!!!

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raointean · 1 year

Text

"Hellfire" is way too relatable to young, queer Christians (or former Christians)

I'll elaborate

Fair warning, I'll be discussing the relationship between queerness (specifically sexuality), religion, and faith, homophobia, internalized homophobia, and misdirected blame.

I'll start this off by saying I was raised in a fairly conservative church from the age of 2 onward. I learned that homosexuality was a horrible sin, but that queer people needed love and support without acceptance. Basically, hate the sin, love the sinner.

And then I figured out I liked girls and proceeded to have a months-long crisis of faith that I couldn't talk to anyone about. "Hellfire" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame was actually a super helpful song in that time because, at its core, it is a song about sexuality and religion coming into conflict. (There's also a solid dose of racism and misogyny in that song, but that's a different post)

Beata Maria

You know I am a righteous man

Of my virtue I am justly proud

As a protestant, I prayed to God instead of Mary, but here, he's talking about the pride he takes in his status within the church. He's ashamed of his feelings, so he's puffing himself up defensively. He may also be trying to show Mary, "Hey, look at all I've done for you! I've done everything you asked! Why are you cursing me with this horrid disease?"

What he doesn't understand is that it's not a disease. He's just experiencing normal, human attraction and panicking because he's been taught that those feelings absolutely cannot co-exist with his position/faith.

Beata Maria

You know I'm so much purer than

The common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd

Again, beefing himself up here. Also revealing his pridefulness.

Then tell me, Maria

Why I see her dancing there

Why her smold'ring eyes still scorch my soul

I feel her, I see her

The sun caught in her raven hair

Is blazing in me out of all control

Women, dude. Women are gorgeous. Here, he's expressing his frustration at his own inability to control his "bad" feelings. He also seems to be asking Mary why God is punishing him with a temptation he's ill-equipped to handle. (God generally allows Christians to be tempted by such things so that we recognize how much we need Him, for anyone who's curious about the theology there).

Like fire

Hellfire

This fire in my skin

This burning

Desire

Is turning me to sin

Jesus says in Matthew 5 that thinking about sin (lust/adultery in this particular case) is just as bad as committing the sin itself in God's eyes. As I said above, God is probably trying to show Frollo that he's a sinful person just like everyone else, and shouldn't hold himself above everyone else. Unfortunately, Frollo didn't learn that lesson and, well, the rest of the movie happened.

In relation to queerness, since homosexuality is taught to be a sin, thinking about someone of the same sex as you in a romantic light is seen as just as bad as actually dating them. I use the romantic example instead of the attraction example because lust is a sin, but loving and wanting a relationship with someone is not! Young, queer people may have been taught that it is, however, which makes that last line particularly devastating.

It's not my fault

I'm not to blame

It is the g*psy girl

The witch who sent this flame

Now, he's trying to blame the person he's attracted to for his own feelings and absolve himself of blame. Unfortunately, for Christians who are discovering their attraction to fellow men or women, the guilt can be crushing! We're often taught about non-heterosexuality as one of the most taboo of sins! When you find out that you are "one of those heathen, godless gays" a lot of people will do everything in their power to get out from under the blame. Surely, it can't be their own fault! It must be the fault of the person they're attracted to, or that episode of glee they saw, or even God Himself for tempting them!

Obviously, this blame is misplaced. Queerness isn't caused. It just is. And like all of the other diversities God created, it has a place and a purpose.

It's not my fault

If in God's plan

He made the devil so much

Stronger than a man

Mood. Frollo has switched from blaming Esmeralda for his attraction to blaming God. (Also, if this were sung by a woman, that "made the devil so much stronger than a man" line takes on an entirely different meaning)

Protect me, Maria

Don't let the siren cast her spell

Don't let her fire sear my flesh and bone

Here, he's begging for protection and relief. He wants things to go back to the way they were. He wants to be free of the moral conflict instead of walking through it. It's a very relatable sentiment! Finding out that you're The Other your community has warned you about your whole life flips your world on its head!

In order to reconcile your sexuality and your faith, you cannot shy away from the conflict, no matter how painful it is! You have to do your own research. You have to think your own thoughts. You have to question everything you've been taught. But I promise, you will come out better for it.

Destroy Esmeralda

And let her taste the fires of Hell!

Or else let her be mine and mine alone

This goes deeper into the "free me from this moral conflict" point. There are really only a few ways that can be done. You can abandon your faith, repress your sexuality, or force the two to get along. Abandoning one's faith is the most common reaction in the queer community because faith, unlike sexuality, is a lifestyle you can choose. However, for a lot of people, their faith is too important to lose.

That only leaves two options. Repressing one's sexuality is usually very damaging to one's mental health. Bottling up all the guilt and shame however, is sometimes easier than doing the research and reevaluating one's worldview.

The "or else let her be mine and mine alone" is Frollo pleading with Mary to give him a way to express his sexuality in a religiously acceptable way. Luckily, that's pretty easy for queer Christians! The Bible gives a lot of tips and expectations for marriages. They are generally framed for hetero couples (because they're the most common), but they apply to homosexual couples as well. You just need to read between the lines.

Paul says in Corinthians 7 that some people should not be married at all (and I think he also implies that he's ace?). That means that ace/aro people and those in queerplatonic relationships are also still in line with the Bible! No conflict there.

Hellfire

Dark fire

Now gypsy, it's your turn

Choose me or

Your pyre

Be mine or you will burn

This is 100% Frollo making Esmeralda responsible for his feelings and not taking accountability for his actions. For the record, that is something you should definitely not do!

God have mercy on her

God have mercy on me

But she will be mine

Or she will burn!

Okay, the first two lines are nice. He's asking for clemency on Esmeralda's behalf for her (imagined) sin of seduction. Then, he asks for clemency for his own (not imagined) sin of lust (but alas, not his pride). The last two lines are a false dichotomy he's created by believing his lust is Esmeralda's fault.

In summary, this song was way too relatable to little 14-year-old me. If you are going through the same thing, don't abandon your faith and don't ignore your feelings. There's a middle ground, I promise. You just need to do your own research and think your own thoughts, as hard as that may be in practice.

Also, be careful who you ask questions to. Remember that your pastors at your conservative church, well-meaning as they may be, have a vested interest in keeping you ignorant of the queer community. Try to find both sides of the story and, if you can do so safely, talk to other queer Christians.

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ludinusdaleth · 2 months

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hey, i'm new to cr fandom and wasn't there when c2 was airing, may i ask out of curiosity what was the fandom's problem with its ending?

i want to start by saying this post is meant as a personal memory and not an incitement of any discourse. i do not want a lot of asks or replies or anything about this if i can help it. i would also politely ask that no one reblog this as i really just. dont want attention about this when ive discussed it to death on twitter. i also apologize for not having screenshots but i truly cannot bring myself to wade through that again. it was bad enough i still have nightmares about it.

basically, about 3 eps before c2's end, matt clarified on twitter the campaign was coming to a close, and that. did not go well. you see, folk (myself included, though i wasnt part of the following clown show) were very sure c2 would continue a while. it felt unfinished as the empire/trent had to be taken down, and for some of us ludinus was clearly the big bad, etc. so this was incredibly jarring to a lot of folk. and with that came anger. a lot of critique came down to fear of things being rushed, a lack of closure, claims of extreme neoliberialism due to not taking down the empire (i could write an essay on and cite multiple leftist activists who have stated c2 is truthful to the activist tale, not neoliberalism, and also how c3 deconstructs beau & caleb's actions, but everyone is allowed to have their own opinion on it), and that if shadowgast did not fuck in this short timespan the fans were going to kill liam & matt. and threats of killing were the least of what ensued. im just gonna put a tw here for discussion of extreme harrassment and even threat of necrophilia/rape:

people were. atrocious. beyond atrocious. know why 4sd/a lot of q&a events of theirs for a while had no fan questions? partially bc fans were frankly terrible at asking non-ship questions on talks machina, but mainly because folk FILLED their inboxes with insults (and a twitter account was made of screenshots bragging about it) that only the crew would get to filter out, not the cast. know why dani was terrified to show her face on 4sd for a bit? c2 fans would not let up on how it was her cishet fault fjorjester happened. people thought the solution to alleged neoliberalism was to therefore @ travis saying they would defile his veteran fathers corpse. if there was any solid discussion critiquing c2 happening, it was so drowned that actors who had nothing to do with the show told cr fans to stay away if that was how they treated their favorite creators wanting a break. it really didnt help that a certain disgraced talks machina host was firing potshots on twitter when the cast seemed to be just trying to take it all in, so more discourse was kicked up from him. in general besides all of that, you had the average death & even a few rape threats you would expect from the pits of fan entitlement. the way they were hardly the most notable of the insults hurled their way still rattles the mind. and thats just what i saw. my friends have claimed to have seen worse, but if we can help it we dont discuss it in detail, it's that bad. like i said, any idea of an actual conversation about c2 and how someone felt about it from an analysis perspective was not even a drop in the bucket; there was no actual discourse but rather spitting hatred pouring over that mistook personal grievances for excuses to mistreat quite literally anyone around them who didnt agree that threatening to defile someone was funny bittersweet revenge.

the thing is, after the c2 finale happened? i mean, a lot of folk didnt originally like it (i think it's generally pretty well liked now, and i enjoy it), but it wrapped up a lot of issues pretty well. all that terror & terrorizing over a fictional story was really for nothing. and even if it had ended undebateably badly did anything warrant that fallout?

there are of course a few other factors that seperate cast from fandom now. laura also got innumerable threats from tlou fans for playing some antagonist character, twitter is a dysfunctional shithole, and it's just rational the more popular you get to not be buddy-buddy with fans. but that was. a Time, for sure. c3 is a decent campaign but im far from the first person to note that many of its traits are set in trying to find vox machina's fixed story beats so no story beat is left "unturned" and being as un-m9-like as possible, even when they love the m9. a lot of the worst m9 fans now who harrass other campaign enjoyers and lament c2 being "an unloved middle child" are folk who never left the bitterness they held in that time. for as much discourse as c3 has kicked up i really dont think any of it compares to the sheer scale of what happened late may 2021, and im hoping with all my heart it never does reach that level ever again (i think c3 has a slightly smaller (at least online) fanbase compared to c2, and isnt marked by a pandemic hiatus, so hopefully that means something).

i hope i answered your question. i really hate remembering this time but sometimes i think it should be remembered so folk know what the cost of extreme parasociality is. the distance the cast has from fans now is not only earned but maybe should have always been there, so things never evolved to that extremity. but now it's done and gone. i envy people who watch cr on their own merits and didn't get sucked into twitter at the time; it has been fascinating watching folk say they love the travelercon/aeor arcs and the ending. rewatching later c2 really emphasizes how many complaints hinged on extremely online & parasocial headspaces - you definitely wont hear anyone nowadays say liam is a biphobic cishet abusing matt by not making caleb kiss essek yet. i hope new fans have a better time than we did. oh - and get off twitter.

#van speaks #asks #long post #really dont want to tag this as anything related to the show lol

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lazaruspiss · 9 months

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So, I'm writing a long fanfic based around the characterizations of the various Bats in the 80s-00s time frame, and Nightwing is gonna be important but I don't have a good grasp of his personality yet. I'm currently reading through The Resurrection of Ras Al Ghul, but that and a few of the 2016 issues are all I've got to go off of right now.

Do you have any comics you'd recommend for getting a good grasp of his personality and general vibes?

I'd also be happy to read any kind of ramble about his personality/appeal you feel like writing. Having read your fanfiction I feel like (sincere compliment:) you are the exact kind of unhinged I want to get character opinions from.

(Also you mentioned Dick being in the mob which sounds Very Fun and I wanna know what titles so I can read that)

-redhoodinternaldialectical on anon cause sideblog

ok first of all. im flattered. i feel so powerful rn.

and second of all... my 'to read' list is embarrassingly long, and dick's been around and in a lot of comics so i have a lot of trouble keeping up ;-; but i will try my best!!

The New Teen Titans gets recommended a lot as a starting point for Dick as Nightwing, and while i havent read much of it, the stuff i have read has been pretty solid and i get why its so popular.

Nightwing 1996 is my personal go to comic for Dick, mainly bc it was his first real solo run. (it's often listed as "volume 2" of nightwing, but volume 1 aka Nightwing 1995 was really more of a test drive just to see if they should make a Nightwing solo series) It's also where Dick joins the mob! although that came off the tail end of a lot of different plot points.

(This is a bit unrelated, but in general I think knowing a bit of irl context to certain comic events is important. Like, at one point Bludhaven is nuked off the map. It doesn't make sense, and it was most likely due to some higher up DC nonsense. And Nightwing 1996's second annual is written by a man. etc etc.)

... I actually have a guide I've been working on, main reasons being quick reference for what happens where, and that writing these things down helps me remember them better

as you can probably tell, I still have a ways to go. looking at this now i'm starting to realize that i am really down bad for him lol

Mobbed Up (where Dick gets adopted by a random mob boss who took one look at his depressed mug as he was getting fired from the police force and said "new son?") is issues #107-111

I feel like I should get back to character thoughts.

Dick on his own is deeply serious, he has a job to do and it's incredibly important that he does it right. In the beginning this serves as an invaluable asset, but as he loses more people it starts to turn into more destructive. A trait that is morphed by his traumas into obsessiveness.

Dick when Tim comes to visit (or just when he's around people he cares about) is a bit softer, it's subtle, but it shows that he's aware of/cares for the people around him.

Dick with Bruce around seems to worry so much about proving himself, about being seen as a respectable peer, that it backfires into making him come off more insecure and as a bit of a "rebellious teen". (which is exactly what he's trying to avoid when he strikes out on his own) I've read various arcs and issues but I haven't actually read any focused on Dick and Bruce aside from the ones towards the beginning, so I'm sure their relationship must change, but this is how they were when Dick had first moved to Blud.

I feel like Bludhaven is also important to talk about. It's very much meant to be "Gotham, but worse". It's a place that even Batman wouldn't bother with, a place beyond saving. I'm... kind of breaking my own heart, thinking about how much Dick put into this city, only to. To fail? In a sense? A hero's home city isn't usually obliterated like that. The only other example that comes to mind is Hal Jordan's, and Hal literally went insane and became a space terrorist to bring it back. Dick is just... forced to move on.

And Dick goes back to NYC. Nightwing patrolling Gotham with any regularity feels very modern. He shows up when there's a major event and DC wants to capitalize on having a bunch of names in the same series, and he shows up when something drastic changes (like a new robin, or a death). Dick has however spent a lot of time in NYC, either because of the Titans or because. yknow. home go boom.

Anyways. Arc recs. Unironically I need you to read Brothers in Blood. Get past the initial gross out factor of Tentatodd and it's a great look at Jason and Dick's relationship. This is #118-122 and right after Bludhaven gets nuked. Dick has just experienced the lowest lows that one could low. Jason seems to know all about it, and tries to help in the worst way possible. Jason is right and blunt and convoluted and so so insecure about where he stands with Dick. Dick doesn't know where he stands with Jason either, on account of all the murder, and his tactless approach to trying to confront Dick on the copious amounts of trauma that Dick is dealing with. BiB is my Jaydick bible.

I'd also say to just give the first few arcs a shot. Beginnings are meant for introductions! It gives a good sense of who Dick is, why he's here, and what his goals are. Exposition baby! And I'm once again thinking about how ultimately Dick kind of fails said goals. I love him but he makes me so emo. Blockbuster has also been his main villain since the beginning, up until. Yknow. He became deader than his namesake. There's also a few fear toxin based issues that are good for. well. understanding what his fears are. There's also a fear toxin scene in Batman: Orphans, but i'll just reblog the post i made of it so u don't have to read that one. The art is fun, the story is weird and just kinda. meh.

#60 is when Dick joins the force. The beginning of the end, so to speak, but we don't meet Catalina until #71.

#93 is That Issue. The infamous rape scene. The thing about his time with Catalina is that it was almost definitely meant to be explored for what it was- an abusive relationship. But DC wanted Nightwing in an event. It doesn't have any satisfactory end, Bruce (DC) calls Dick to fight in Gotham. He does. His story falls to the wayside for the bigger title. The worst thing that can happen to a DC character IMO is getting a Batman crossover. There was supposed to be an entire arc dedicated to what would happen to Dick in this abusive relationship. But we got 2 issues. And War Games. It pisses me off to absolutely no end. DC needed more mouths to kiss the ground that Batman walks on. They don't give a damn about the stories that exist outside their cash cow.

After all that, eventually Dick is back to his utterly depressing life. He joins the mob, finds a family, bad things happen to said family. (Mobbed Up, #107-111) He wants to protect the daughter, Sophia Tevis, and then Slade holds Sophia hostage to get Dick to teach his daughter Rose how to fight. He does, but he also teaches Rose how to question authority (aka her dad). Slade is not happy about that, and nukes Bludhaven. (Renegade, #112-117) See my earlier note about IRL reasons for dumbass plot points.

Nightwing 1996 has 2 annual issues (despite running for much longer than 2 years). The first annual is a fun murder mystery and i think a good look into how Dick handles relationships. He also reads as very aromantic/demiromantic who doesn't know it yet, but maybe that's just me, lol. the second annual is dog shit. Mark Andreyko can get bent, it sucked total ass and isn't worth reading.

#asks #redhoodinternaldialectical #this isnt the /most/ well organized but i hope it was at least a little helpful #now to go find the batman orphans post i mentioned

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anna-lyz3d · 3 months

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Jure x Damon Baker photoshoot

I've noticed that no one has really said much about the Jure pics by Damon Baker so….. here I am ;)

This is my first post on here so sorry for any oddity!

Ok, first of all, they are so incredibly BEAUTIFUL!!! I can't quite put into words how amazingly well they're done (it makes sense cuz Damon Baker took them lol) but they’re seriously a level of photography that is obscenely hard to achieve. This on its own is kind of telling of how loaded they are in my opinion but there are quite literally so many angles to start from I'm having a hard time choosing… Either way, let's begin.

The thing that initially caught my eye in these is the visual contrasts and general darkness of the photos. Now a part of this is definitely just making sure the values are balanced but I can't help but pay attention to how different that feels with Jure. I feel like most people see him as bright and constantly happy, and in a way, this already contrasts with that, because Damon shows the dark and mature side of Jure. It almost feels like he's trying to communicate that he is more than just cheery and fun, to tell people that there's more depth to consider. This side of Jure shows his comfort in his body as well as himself as a person, which also makes it different from the others.

With the other shoots, I felt a twinge of insecurity in most photos, not to say that is something bad because it really does de-idolize JO and show them more like real people with real deep emotional struggles, but with Jure, where others seemed to definitely have a focus on body comfort (or lack thereof imo) he shows pride. Aside from his rather open stances and gaze the makeup adds on a huge level to that security.

There is also, however, something inherently feminine about them. Not even from the makeup POV, because although that's stereotypically feminine with Jure I feel like its more than that. Like rather than the eyeliner being there to make him appear more feminine I think it's a little more about the stylistic image (basically it's used in a completely different way than Krises was). Speaking specifically about the picture attached above, it feels much softer than others. Whereas with Kris the feminine themes were undeniably a focus, with Jure they almost feel more underlying and intimate to me, as only a part of the whole is expanded on.

Another thing to touch on is the chaos and intentional messiness of the shoot. Disheveled hair, smeared makeup, stretched sweater… other than being obviously attractive they bring out the most inherent feature of Jure which is his unpredictability. This is something I think people omit a little too fast (from what I've seen on twitter), just sort of passing it off as being seductive in a way, but imo it's the most telling thing in the pics. He isn't afraid to show he is messy and chaotic, the almost clumsy tone I see in the photos somehow adds a sort of pensiveness to them. Could I go as far as to say the mess embodies the emotions he feels? Yes, I think I could.

Jure is an enigma, we hardly know anything personal about him, which is reflected here. Though there's so much speculation that can be done in regard to what is shown, I think a big part of the appeal this photoshoot has IS the fact that we don’t know. While I thought Jans would be the most confusing or like mysterious, it's really turning out to be Jure.

There are so many statements here that I want to contradict, yes I feel an undeniable sense of security in most of these, except there's also somewhere he feels hidden? The pictures in color as he sits on the floor confuse me so much in that regard. Whereas the first drop had a solid consistency to it, these go against that. They show him smaller and more insecure than he ever appears to be and I believe it may reference some of the events that took place in the last couple of months, mainly the panic attack he experienced sometime during autumn. Though it really could be anything, I think that this stark contrast, and the fact that there are only around 3 pictures that seem to share this theme, really do connect to that even if subconsciously. They feel almost episodic or temporary, they are real, they are there, and they feel insightful and private.

The one thing I really can't attach solid meaning to is the lamp. I feel like It plays a role in the whole composition, It's specifically featured in a lot of the shots, and the color vs black and white contrast in the last posted picture has definitely got me thinking, I just don’t quite know what about yet.

That's all for today… I think ;D

#joker out #jure maček #jure macek #damon baker #joker out jure #joker out photoshoot

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suffarustuffaru · 5 months

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What are your thoughts on Re:63 fic by Spriteanon?

(okay also gonna leave a link to spriteanon’s rezero fics here and the re:63 series here if anyone is interested!!! and please feel free to leave some nice comments if you enjoy <3)

hi anon!! :o okay quick disclaimer that i havent touched spriteanons re:63 fic in a Very Long Time but i read a few of their If route/spinoff fics and got to around somewhere in arc 3 of the main re:63 fic yes :o!! (i only havent touched it since because Time and my Uncontrollable Attention Span. i dont tend to read super long fics either—no hard feelings or anything i am just a student with adhd hah.)

also quick explanation for anyone else stumbling across this—re:63 is a long plotty multichapter fic series where subaru and a few other surprise characters are genderbent (i use “genderbend” here in the sense of. biological sex and gender were bent yes). the fic starts from arc 1 and then comes with Major Divergences throughout the entire story. its a very solid read!!

but yeah so from what i do remember, i really enjoyed the fic, yeah. if i did read it again recently + caught up all the way to the current arc of the story (arc 4 i believe) i might have minor criticisms here and there, but again theyd be minor, and big emphasis on might because i do think re:63 is incredible (also i 1. try to adhere to fanfic courtesy of not giving unsolicited criticism directly to the author anyway wkfn and 2. im very light on most fic because. well we are All writing for free). and spriteanon has wrote more than a million words for this, all of which are Very polished with a solid plan for each arc. the fic’s such a labor of love its absolutely one of the best long form multichapter fics in this fandom, in my opinion. the writing style is very precise, i think, while still hitting Hard for every emotional beat and i think they generally get characters right. it’s a perfect balance.

i think what i most enjoyed about spriteanon’s fic though was its take on fem subaru.

the thing with fembaru takes in this fandom (though i see this also happen with fem reinhard takes as well)—im speaking for the english side of the fandom here by the way hah—is that sometimes writers tend to fall into this like. pitfall of being way too different with said now-female-character.

making a genderbend au does kind of show how you think of gender roles and gender and biological sex and all that, you know? not that thats a bad thing thats just an Inevitable fact given how intertwined these things can be irl and how a genderbend au will focus on these things in some way.

but like. genderswapping a character Is gonna change some things but its not usually gonna change Every Single Recognizable Trait in existence. sometimes people fall into pitfall of “this character is girl now” and forget to write her as a Person. they dont let her be as humanly “ugly” as how the character is in canon as a guy. and too many times i look at rezero genderbend fics or requests for genderbend fics in the rezero reddit fanfic ideas thread and fem subaru and reinhard are often genderswapped just to ship them with men (such as fembaru with regular reinhard or vice versa)—it does make me a little uncomfortable sometimes because 1. shipping the now fem character with another character of the same sex (such as fembaru x rem) doesnt really. Happen as much. it doesnt seem to be treated as a possibility that much?? or at least i havent seen it in fic. even though it Could Be, it’d just be less likely for Multiple Reasons (though of course correct me if im wrong if this ever happens in spriteanons fic akdndn) and 2. it feels like making a gay ship (like reinsuba) straight (ie reinsuba but one of them is the opposite sex now). which i have personal feelings on but i wont go too much into that hah.

BUT OKAY i digress i dont mean At All to go after authors who do any of this akndnd and spriteanon does have a few spinoff fics with fembaru x reinhard—all of which i ENJOYED, because 1. what i just said is a Personal Preference and 2. i dont mind it at all if its Well Written regardless (i have enjoyed a few other fembaru x reinhard fics too just bc they were well written yes!!). and spriteanons writing and handling of reinsubas dynamic is very very well written imo and i really liked reading through it. theyve written both fembaru and reinhard + subaru and fem reinhard together with a nuanced understanding of both characters, i think, and it absolutely still feels like Them. if that makes sense hah. like im not thinking “this feels like whole other people”, im thinking “this IS reinhard and subaru” regardless of gender. which is good because the former might take me out of the story a little bit T^T

and also i understand people are gonna have different takes on how genderbend aus would go, and i DO enjoy seeing variety in this yes!! :o (i cant really judge either because my old genderbend au fic is very. its different, lets just say hah.)

also spriteanon is Very good at showcasing subarus positive and negative qualities, i think. and spriteanon doesnt forget to show subarus npc/game/genre awareness-related mentality (in another way this time, given the slight differences in female lead isekai stories) either!! it was very interesting to read for Sure, and i appreciated how well they showed the trauma and horror in the story and showed how subaru understandably responds to it. fembaru feels Human here and like this is still subaru, which i think should be the goal yes. character is Very Important. and subaru can be very hard to get even close to right in fics so i gotta commend spriteanon in general for all the hard work on this fic hah.

and also i enjoyed the exploration of another subaru hobby (music!!) (which iirc is probably also a canon detail anyway?? but its expanded on in re:63??) very interesting. not much to say on that bc i dont Entirely remember every detail of this i just thought it was a fun take yes.

also i did love seeing the other characters that were genderbent. that was very fun. i kinda wish there were More just because i enjoyed it a lot. i liked seeing what changed and what didnt. though iirc spriteanon has some sort of interactive quality with some parts of the fic where they put up polls to vote on some aspects of the story?? so maybe some reoccurring readers voted on some of who gets to be genderbent and who doesnt hah.

and also the canon divergences in the story are Interesting. i was really kept on my toes a bit fr. i think out of what i read arc 2 was ABSOLUTELY my favorite for sure. it was such an amazing read and in a few aspects i enjoyed it More than canon arc 2!! not that canon arc 2 is bad (i enjoyed canon arc 2 A Lot) but re:63’s arc 2 has such Fascinating things in it…. hah i wont go into too much detail though its Spoilery.

but either way. re:63 is a very strong and solid fic imo. i really enjoyed it overall!! i might return to the fic someday to read through it from start to finish—not sure if i ever will but id have a fun time i think hah. its an absolute gem and you can see all the work spriteanon puts into it!!

#re:zero #rezero #ask #also people can write what they want of course i just have Opinions. tho if i enjoy it I Enjoy It end of story :o !!!#i dont mean any ill will by any of my opinions akfnnd just want to make that clear yes.#(this is about my takes on making gay ships straight wkcndn please dont kill me for saying that hah)#but yes anyway.#TLDR: GREAT FIC I ENJOYED LOTS 👍👍

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gaiahypothesims · 11 months

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Get to Know Me- Sims Style

Thank you for tagging me @treason-and-plot

What’s your favorite Sims death?

Ugh man, I don't know. I don't let mine die a lot, but they do tend to die from random stupid things. Meteor death, while I was making scenes. Birthday cake fire/death from a gameplay.

Alpha CC or MaxisMatch?

Alpha. I like MM for TS4, but not so much for TS3.

Do you cheat your sims weight?

I haven't had to until recently. Laken ate a whole bunch of pie, autonomously!!! and then the next thing I knew he was all blown up and waddling around. The rest of them seem to have kept themselves in order. Its no good when taking pics of a scene and suddenly someone looks waayyyy different. Fucking Laken.

Do you move objects?

Oh absolutely. I don't think my game likes it. But its a necessary evil.

Favourite Mod?

All of NRAAS, and also all the new toddler interactions from MTS. Skins are a must for me, same with eyes. I don't like dead eyes.

First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack?

TS3- Generations or Seasons? I think. I had TS2 previously, but that was a lifetime ago and I don't remember what I did with that.

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing

Live like aLIVE. What the heck man.

Who’s your favourite sim that you’ve made?

Oh lord. I have so many. I'll be the most apparent and say Jonah. Because he's just a whole legacy.

Have you made a simself?

Oh yeah. Just one though. Because I wanted to see if she'd get up to some shit. On brand as always, she does nothing. Just shows up here and there. Goes to work, goes home. No drama. Sigh. Lame old thing.

Which is your favorite EA hair color?

Oh man.. I don't know. Black? I usually change them. The brown is too green, the reds too orange... blonde too yellow.

Favorite EA hair?

Good question. Maybe this one? I don't use EA hairs for the most part. Jared got a makeover and doesn't use this one anymore, but it was one I've used before. There are some other ones that are decent but I don't have images.

Favorite life stage?

Young Adult, just because it encompasses a pretty huge frame of life. You can make them look 18 or 35+ in the same stage.

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

I like building things, I just suck at it. I love the gameplay, but I also love making up a story as I go. So while I am mostly a story teller here, I do let gameplay dictate a lot of what goes on. High free will is always on.

Are you a CC creator?

In a way. I do have CC out there, but nothing fancy. Just make up and some paintings. I share a lot of my sims because I like making them.

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad?

I would say that there are some older sim story tellers and such that have kept me going. There are ones that I think about a lot and would 100% credit me for keeping on, even when things aren't the same as they were before. I do it for you!

Do you have any sims merch?

Yeah for sure. Any dildo out there that you fancy is directly moulded after Jonah's dick. At least he'd say so.

Do you have a YouTube for sims?

HAH. I can't even imagine the torture of sitting through me 'playing'.

How has your “Sims style” changed throughout your years of playing?

I really used to be gameplay only. But In my mind I made up stories and dialogue as it happened and of course laughed at my own jokes and their antics. It wasn't until after TS4 came out and I really went hunting for stories that I started my own, not in TS4 because I couldnt "connect" with it.

What’s your origin id?

I don't know. I do have TS4, but I don't play it. I ended up having TS3, GEN, Seasons, ITF on there.... but then I re-bought it all on Steam way back because Origin is so shifty.

Who’s your favorite CC creator?

Oh man, so many and so niche. But generally Around the Sims is so solid and still converting and making things for TS3. They are the only person I've spent real $$ on.

How long have you had simblr?

I don't know. 6-7 years? Maybe more. I'm sure I could look it up, but... that would make me look back on my life.

How do you edit your pictures?

I used to take reg screens and then run them through Adobe Lightroom. But then I thought I would try gshade-reshade, hated it, then tried it again. I still don't love it, but it cuts down on editing time which means I can actually share/write whatnot. So I'm there now. Reshade.

What expansion/ gamepack is your favorite?

I love ITF... because its just... out there and every so often I love me some sci-fi. With that said I think the game isn't complete without Seasons and Generations. I'll be honest and say that I haven't explored the game to the fullest. I wish it would be "remastered" and more current to todays systems. It would be a whole ass banger if it could actually play on the system I have right now.

***I'm not nominating anyone because I'm so late to the game. Life is wild and crazy and I feel lucky that anyone remembers I'm still here. I love you all, and appreciate all the hearts and comments. I know I'm not as consistent or interactive as I used to be. Life has just... decided to make me work for it.

#the sims 3 #not story #tag thinger #tag thing

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skaruresonic · 5 months

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Wall of ramblings incoming

The whole debacle around Shadow, to me at least, is basically one of the signs of the generational shift in the fandom. Except now instead of people saying that everything after the classic games sucks, its everything after the adventure games that does, because adventure games was the golden time when Sega meant SRS BZNSS and was so DARK and so MATURE, and nowadays its all just babby games for babbys and not true fans. And what better character to use as a glorified example than who's pretty much the face of that era? At least from what I managed to understand among all the headcannons, it's that some people seem to believe that overamping of Shadow's angst will somehow outweigh the "kiddiness" of current Sonic and restore the universal balance or something that will remind the blind sheep how truly good and SERIOUS Sonic used to be. Yes, some are doing it just for angst's sake or because they just discovered what angst is and they learned that it makes them feel things so they want more of it, but with the supposedly serious fans I'm more inclined to think that what I described could be at least partially the reason. Why else would, for example, you have Shadow manipulated by illusions of Maria, have him blindly believe her and have an "emotional" boss fight with her afterwards like in Omens, if not to make people go "oh wow that is so not like the current Sonic games".

To me, it speaks of a lack of imagination. People like to act as though Big Bad Sega is putting him under lock and key with all these fictitious mandates, but really, at this point he's the one with the most carte blanche because there's very little actually tying him down. He's moved on from his past, he can't be manipulated by villains anymore, and he may or may not even be a part of GUN atm considering Eggman decimated them in Forces. Where do you go from there? Anywhere you can think of. You (general you) could take Shadow in literally any direction, do anything with him, have any number of stories and character arcs. You could do a lot with "seeks strong foes" as a motivation, provided you, you know, build a solid story around it. And yet, somehow, the only thing you can think to do is to drag him back to his past, over and over again.

And, well. Definition of insanity, and all that.

Obviously I'm not opposed to the general idea of revisiting his time on the ARK - otherwise I'd be a huge hypocrite in making a VN with that exact setting, lol - but I feel like ST has the best idea out of anyone by showing us Shadow's happy moments rather than any suffering he may have experienced there. The contrast makes the tragedy hit harder.

The insistence on seeing Shadow suffer in just this one specific context feels weird. It makes it seem like the only thing he does of note is suffer, just like how Maria's only apparent contribution is to die.

Folks want muh deep dark Sonics, but then overlook the context behind that suffering. The games don't include dark content without reason. There's usually a parable or message of some kind attached, typically a hopeful one. ---

At least from what I managed to understand among all the headcannons, it's that some people seem to believe that overamping of Shadow's angst will somehow outweigh the "kiddiness" of current Sonic and restore the universal balance or something that will remind the blind sheep how truly good and SERIOUS Sonic used to be. Why else would, for example, you have Shadow manipulated by illusions of Maria, have him blindly believe her and have an "emotional" boss fight with her afterwards like in Omens, if not to make people go "oh wow that is so not like the current Sonic games".

What gets me is, okay, even if Shadow has to suffer, even if that part is non-negotiable... why does it have to be related to the ARK? What about the ARK raid was so special that something else couldn't make just as big an impact on his character? Maria's death? Yes, it impacted him greatly, but that doesn't mean he can't still suffer. Forces made him suffer when Infinite stuck him in Virtual Reality, but apparently making Omega and Rouge's visages mock him wasn't good enough. Those illusions needed to be Maria or otherwise they wouldn't be seen as legitimate. And that's not even getting into the logistics of how Infinite managed to learn about Maria in the first place. Not to mention, "Do you really think Shadow is stupid enough to fall for the illusion of someone he knows for a stone-cold fact is dead?" Like. It's almost as though they expect a Pavlovian response, like Shadow's supposed to suffer flashbacks on the spot or something. Actually kind of vaguely gross if you think about it. The real irony underpinning all this is how Forces offered to deliver a Return to Form to those Serious Games with a story about the horrors of war, but because it wasn't the flavor they wanted, people snubbed their noses and threw it in with the rest of the discards. If SA2 were remade today and no changes were made to the story and dialogue, people would probably be like "omg Shadow threatens Rouge's life wtf is this Segaaaa why aren't they besties right off the bat" or "why is Shadow smirking so much" because they have this idea in their heads of how Shadow Should Be(tm) that's based more on nebulous vibes and fanon than anything else.

This isn't even getting into how regressive it would be to push Shadow back to his SA2 portrayal when he was essentially brainwashed for most of the game. Nor how '06!Shadow and SA2!Shadow aren't even the same character. The latter is the result of the former having gone through three games' worth of character development and finally deciding to move on and not be manipulated by assholes anymore.

I feel like what people are trying to say is they want a certain vibe from Shadow, this... idk, chiller version of him? That doesn't have any discernible rough edges. In reality, Shadow's always had rough edges. He's always been a little competititive, a little arrogant, a little violent, a little bit of a petty bitch, a little misanthropic. But, again, he has multiplicity of character, and it's the context which matters in terms of whether those traits appear and to what degree.

#asks

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msfcatlover · 1 year

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You’re all going to be seeing these back to back (thank you queue,) but I wrote the Star Sapphire Damian post last week and have been doing more research on the corps. And honestly, I like it even better now?

First of all, ever since I found out how Lantern rings work (that is, being drawn towards the entities most filled with/fueled by/capable of inspiring the emotion the ring represents,) I’ve been really curious about what happens if someone doesn’t agree with the main philosophy of the corps, but the ring was drawn to them anyway. Because the Green Lantern ring only cares about strength of willpower, but the Green Lantern Corps is a political faction with its own rules, principles, etc. What if someone had one of the strongest wills in the multiverse but when they find out about all the other stuff they’re just like, “Nah. I’m good.” …I mean, in the case of the Green Lanterns, I’m sure they all team up to take that person down and take back the ring. But literally what is stopping the ring from just flying back to that person? Or one of the other rings just flying about? And some of the other corps seem to place a much higher value on their core emotion than the rules they have in place, so would they let that person keep a ring that had decided that person was worthy even if that person wouldn’t follow their rules? (I am 100% certain this has been addressed in the comics at some point, but I don’t know where to even start to look for it.)

What I’m saying is: Damian doesn’t have to agree with the Star Sapphires’ policies as an organization to get the powers. Which is good, because Damian definitely would not be down for the whole brainwash-recruitment strategy. But he is still full of love & loss, he’s still driven by it, he’s still willing to make huge sacrifices for the sake of those he loves (case in point: as far as Damian’s concerned, none of his family even know he exists at this point in time, and by pursuing such a dramatically different path Damian can never recover even a facsimile of those relationships—the context is just too different, there’s no way they’ll ever see/treat him the same way they did before.) (Which is just some delicious dramatic irony. Especially because I get to reward Damian with people who did live through many of those things with him, and who care about him & understand him the very way he thought he was giving up forever. Much more damaged, scarred, and emotionally shredded versions of those people, but those people all the same. Who will be just as happy to see Damian as he is to see them, because each & every one of them lost him before and probably thought they had again when they found out the League was burning & Damian was fully MIA.)

BACK ON TOPIC! Damian is filled with love & loss, and could absolutely draw in a Violet Lantern ring. And the Sapphires seem to be one of those corps who care more about the purity & power of the emotion felt rather than the rules they follow, so there is a solid argument for them letting him keep it. And it would give Damian the equipment to personally stop the invasion, because he could force the generic Evil Alien Overlord to experience all the pain they made Damian go through. Not in a brainwashy way, but more in a, “Let me help you make a more informed decision by showing you what you actually do to people in your quest for conquest. Let’s see if you still want to pursue the same path after witnessing the other side,” sort of way. (Is that more of a compassion thing? Yeah, but you can’t tell me the Sapphires can force feelings of love into people to bend their wills and not expect me to believe they can make them feel other emotions tied to love, especially when having loved & lost is one of the things the rings prioritize.)

This requires me to make the non-green Lantern corps a much longer-standing thing than they canonically are, but fuck it, that’s a retcon that should’ve been made long ago; it does not make sense for the Green Lanterns to be this centuries-old organization and all the other (supposedly equally powerful & important) emotions only getting rings & corps in the most modern last few years. Plus, it means Earth’s primary Violet Lantern would be a very, very small child, and I think that’s hilarious. He’s gonna adopt Dex-Starr, and then they’ll both make Hal Jordon look like somehow the least competent Earth representative.

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marygodwin-bsd · 11 months

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Rating members of the ADA based on nothing but my own vibes (I haven't seen all of season 3)

I'll post a part 2 with the port mafia and a part 3 with the guild

Dazai Osamu

8/10 for looks. 4/10 for the chuuya abuse. 6/10 for the fact everytime i hear his english voice it reminds me of hendrickson from SDS bc that is the VA. overall 7/10 character but I would not wanna be his friend in real life. follow his instagram at most.

Kunikida Doppo

Y'ALL ALREADY KNOW hotness 10/10, 6/10 for the possible terrorist backstory that would be oh so fantastic character building, 8/10 for the fact i ALSO happen to be overly obsessed with my own schedule, 4/10 for the fact someone called his hair a deceased pikachu wig and I laughed, 7/10 for the fact his english VA is Griamore from sds and that was weird for a few scenes. OVERALL 9/10 solid gold good man deserves a white picket dream (the remaining 1/10 is for the fact they couldnt help themselves with his spiky hair sticking out, so now it is effectively a mullet instead of just long hair)

Rampo Edogawa

7/10 on looks in general i have no strong opinions about his ensemble except that he looks like a lil detective and the IRL Rampo wrote "Boy Detectives Club" and i think its adorable. 8/10 for the fact his brain is awesome and the cockiness. 7/10 for the rivalry with poe because i like it but i havent seen enough of it to be super into their thing yet overall 7/10 I dont have much to say hes just a good boy

Yosano Akiko

5/10 for the design im sorry i hate that the skirt is that low she can have a long skirt but it looks way awk at the hips though that may just be because the skirt goes out instead of just downward like a maxi. the gold hair clip is good i like it. 9/10 for the way she snatched that mans hand and almost took it off, 7/10 for the scenes that make this anime look way sus to my parents (YOU KNOW WHICH ONES I MEAN!) overall 8/10 for everything except that damn skirt

Kenji Miyazawa

Team baby!! 10/10 for team baby and YES hes the team baby even though kyouka is ALSO the team baby but i'll get to that. 8/10 for being Finny from Black Butler without my issues from black butler. 7/10 for his morals on cows. 8/10 for his everything about his personality. im not rating on attractiveness bc he is fourteen >:1 idk why i wasted y'alls time explaining hes 10/10 for team baby

Kyouka Izumi

Ok she was going to be the team baby but then i reevaluated and decided no shes just ATSUSHI'S BABY. 8/10 for how adorable her jellyfish cut is. 10/10 for sad backstory. 6/10 for the fact people ship her with atsushi and the show seems to lean that way as well (I was so happy when Lucy arrived for this reason). 7/10 overall for second team baby

Atsushi Nakajima

6/10 for the fact my phone always autocorrects him to At Sushi. 7/10 for that haircut. 10/10 for awful father figure. 9/10 for the headcannon about his parents engaging in cannibalism that sounded so in-line with the show i thought it was real and not a headcannon. I'm sorry 6/10 for the fact the va uses the same voice for atsushi that he uses for Harlequin in SDS and it trips me up. 8/10 for the fact his eyes cant decide what color to be. 7/10 for the fact it feels weird to see smut with him in it because he is also, effectively, team baby.

These two

This poor guy got NERFED by his own story bro this author wasn't into all this.... sister stuff... but apparently his book character was! Gimme a minute to yak anyways designs are 7/10 pretty basic but do their job effectively and Naomi's appearance actually supports the headcannon shes not real and shes just a product of his ability which i like. The sibling... "relationship" gets 0/10 for EW but kunikida gets 10/10 for telling atsushi to ignore it but then still yelling at them after he gets 7/10 for his general personality, honestly if his devotion to his sister wasnt related to the weird incest stuff i would find it a really great plot device (being devoted to protecting and taking care of your only family left) overall naomi gets 6/10 for being okay and looking properly suited for her environment unless shes around Junchiro Junchiro gets 8/10 for having a sick matrix ability and looking basic but not boring

Fukuzawa Yukichi

GOOD OL' CAT LOVING GRANDPA HIMSELF. 3/10 for the fact he knows mori, 10/10 for how he looks after everyone. also 7/10 for the fact im realizing how kunikidas hairstyle might be because he is COPYING FUKUZAWA... anyways. I don't personally find him all that attractive but to be fair he doesn't show up a lot? 8/10 for being a badass. 9/10 because I feel sad that he didnt get to pet the kitty in Wan. Overall, 8/10

Pt 2 will go here Pt 3 will go here pt 4 is here

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columboscreens · 2 years

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for the new episodes what are your top 10 favorites?

what really constitutes a good reboot columbo for me is mostly how much it captures the spirit of the original run while still being true to its time and true to the character. if i watch it back and wish they'd made it 20 years prior, i consider it a solid romp.

that said, almost all of them are bloated and overlong. much to the detriment of the show's quality, ABC really preferred 120 minute runtimes to the original default runtime of 70 minutes. the ones i list here suffer least.

without further ado, if you're going to watch columbo in the clinton years, here are

COLUMBOSCREENS' TOP 10 COLUMBO REBOOT EPISODES

10. death hits the jackpot: low budget and absolutely ridiculous. columbo gets his badge stolen by a chimp. it's a blatant and far less clever rendition of greenhouse jungle. that said, rip torn kills it, and seeing him go head-to-head against columbo makes it worth watching. also the series' only halloween episode!

9. caution: murder can be hazardous to your health: george hamilton puts on his murdering hat once again as some sort of homicidal john walsh in an entertaining lampoon of america's most wanted. not the strongest episode, but plenty of fun. one thing i do prefer about the later episodes in general is that they're far more diverse; in this episode we're treated to the villain's primary staffer being a young, vibrant black woman with a prominent speaking role. as pictured above, columbo wanders into a sex shop and utters the word "porno". make of it what you will.

8. ashes to ashes: kind of dull, very bloated, and overly silly, with a whimsical sprinkle of ethnic stereotyping. however, watching patrick mcgoohan slaughter rue mcclanahan with a Mortuary Baton is rather fun in a surreal way. the typical chemistry between the two leads is there in spades. we get to see columbo get kidnapped, cringe at a bad funeral medley, and receive an estimate as to what he'll look like once cremated. overall a reasonably enjoyable watch.

7. sex and the married detective: lots of people have mixed feelings on this one, including myself, but i like it more than i don't. i love seeing the series boldly confront sex in a more open era. it's oddly intimate, and seeing columbo initially flustered at the sexual openness of his female adversary is pretty endearing! his rapport with this murderer is very enjoyable to watch, and i truly love that final scene where they're just conversing frankly by an open fire. for some reason columbo hurls himself onto a big ornate orgy bed when he's sure nobody is looking. honestly, aside from the cringey tuba march and the weird scene where he's yelling and going bananas at the russian cleaning lady, i thoroughly enjoy this episode.

6. agenda for murder: once again mcgoohan shines in this episode, and as he's the sun to falk's moon, so does our leading man. the chemistry between these two is in full force and really makes this plot, largely a frankenstein of like three different columbos, seem fresh and new. there are a few eyebrow-raising plot holes--surely a lawyer and political actor of his stature would know who columbo is--and while bite marks remain legally admissable in court, today they're widely acknowledged to be of dubious veracity in terms of evidence. but this episode's murderer catches on to the whole thing rather quickly, and if you really just want an episode that feels like a good old fashioned columbo, look no further. i also just love watching columbo peck away at computers and fax machines.

5. it's all in the game: many dislike this one, but i’m particularly fond of it because it examines the fabric of columbo’s character in a meaningful, intimate, and unique way that we don’t often see as the audience, and i love episodes like that. the emmy-winning performance by faye dunaway almost goes without saying and adds rewatchability points; her chemistry with falk really emulsifies the script and makes the story believable. for once, his usual rhetoric doesn’t really get him anywhere with a suave little minx trying to kiss him into submission every five minutes–especially considering his lack of concrete proof for most of the case. thus, he has no choice but to play her game to get what he wants, letting her believe that her wiles are working to save her a prison stint, all while remaining professional and unwavering in pursuit of his true goal. what makes it interesting is that for the first time there appears to be a real mixture of business with pleasure, a real, visible struggle with his feelings and the nature of what he’s doing. could've been a little less on the nose and i could always do without the swells of music telling me how to feel, but that's a critique for almost every episode in this era.

4. rest in peace mrs. columbo: a solid and compelling story that strays from the beaten path and actually works, arriving from a natural curiosity about the consequences of columbo's ostentatious takedowns. if some smug little dwarf of a cop threw your loved one's ass in jail, wouldn't you want to knock him down a peg by poisoning his wife? the second half of this episode ramps up exceptionally well--we see firsthand the lengths to which the lieutenant is willing to go for the mrs., and to me, that alone is worth the watch. the restaurant exchange with roscoe lee brown is phenomenal, helen shaver is outstanding, and this episode’s gotcha is, to me, one of the best in the series, period.

3. columbo likes the nightlife: lots of people aren't a fan of this one, but i love this episode because it truly harks back to the older run after a string of hard to watch outings in the 90s where columbo acts painfully cartoonish. even the aspect ratio is a return to form! this comparatively grittier and more down to earth story whips falk back into shape, even as he's clearly approaching retirement. i love his weird old man behavior, digging in toilets and manhandling corpses. moreover, i have a big soft spot for all the trappings of the early aughts: bluehaired alt girls with hot topic fishnets and livejournals, techno warehouse raves, and steve schrippa.

2. columbo cries wolf: the script is definitely a little weak in some spots, and doesn't seem quite as intelligently written as much of the original run. that said, this episode is one of my favorites because of how much of a straight-up blast it is to watch. it's not only total 80s eye candy--columbo smokes pensively in a helicopter above LA, then goes to the mall in a corinthian leather-clad limo surrounded by a bunch of big-haired sex nymphs--the plot itself is actually solid. ian buchanan, as a prelude to his twin peaks performance, is deliciously smarmy. the runtime is filled well for the most part, and falk is in top form. this episode has a special place in my heart because it's the only time we see columbo wholly and very publicly thwarted, albeit temporarily, and it's only because he's simply unacquainted with the level of media brain rot necessary to even conceive of the scheme that entraps him. and i find that beautiful.

last but not least................................

1. columbo goes to college: god, i love this episode. you'll notice this one regularly tops other people's lists, and i'm no exception. not only does falk totally nail columbo, the plot is interesting, tightly-written, and the episode doesn't suffer from being as long as it is. columbo squaring off against two 90s-flavored Whatever Talk To The Hand I'll Just Use My Dad's Credit Card spoiled young assholes was a marvelous idea, and theyre written well to boot. the two leads do a fantastic job, we get a bobby culp cameo, and the production is a smashing success. practically 70s-tier.

so there you have it. honestly, most of the reboots are decent tv to watch, and all of them have scenes worth seeing. but if you're looking for episodes that at least approach the caliber of classic columbo, these are the ones i keep in my pocket.

#columbo #ask #text #longpost #reboot

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